NASA Education Express — Sept. 17, 2015

Check out the latest NASA Education opportunity announcements.

Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NEW THIS WEEK!____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Free NASA Educator Professional Development WebinarsAudience: In-service, Pre-service, Home School and Informal Educators
Next Event Date: Sept. 17, 2015, at 4 p.m. EDT

Smithsonian TechQuest: Astronaut Academy
Audience: Designed for Families With Children Ages 10 to 14, but Open to All
Next Event Date: Sept. 19, 2015, 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. EDT

Call for Proposals — NASA Research Announcement for Use of the NASA Physical Sciences Informatics System: Appendix AAudience: Graduate Students and Established Researchers
Proposal Deadline: Sept. 30, 2015

NEW THIS WEEK!____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Free NASA Educator Professional Development Webinars

The NASA STEM Educator Professional Development Collaborative at Texas State University is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources that bring NASA into your classroom. Registration is required to participate. Simply click on the link provided beneath the webinar description to register.

Rockets 2 Racecars: Session 1 — Train Like an AstronautAudience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 3-9Event Date: Sept. 17, 2015, at 4 p.m. EDT
Get your students revved up with NASA’s Rockets 2 Racecars STEM education webinar series! Educators will discover correlations between stock car drivers and astronauts that include muscle strength and endurance, reaction time, and effects to your brain when exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide. There is a special opportunity for 12 educators to work alongside NASA specialists during an event at the Dover Speedway on the weekend of Oct. 2, 2015.
Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/138932

The Spectrum of AstronomyAudience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8Event Date: Sept. 21, 2015, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Learn about resources for teaching the full range of astronomical observation from infrared to gamma ray. This webinar also will include discussion of the missions making observations and information learned in each subset of the electromagnetic spectrum. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/138493

Rockets 2 Racecars: Session 2 – Race Suit SpacesuitAudience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 3-9Event Date: Sept. 22, 2015, at 4 p.m. EDT
Get your students revved up with NASA’s Rockets 2 Racecars STEM Education webinar series! Discover similarities in NASA spacesuits and race suits used by racecar drivers. Learn the technologies developed by NASA that are used by the racing industry and investigate how technology development is linked to processes of the human body. There is a special opportunity for 12 educators to work alongside NASA specialists during an event at the Dover Speedway on the weekend of Oct. 2, 2015.
Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/138945

Robotics on a BudgetAudience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8Event Date: Sept. 23, 2015, at 6 p.m. EDT
Robots are a part of our everyday lives. We use them in ways we don’t always recognize. What are robots, how are they used in our lives and how are they used at NASA? These are some of the questions explored in this webinar. Using NASA STEM robotics missions, curriculum, online resources and the Next Generation Science Standards, we’ll also show how to use robotics, inexpensively, in your classroom to enhance your students’ STEM understanding. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/140417

Mission to Mars Series: Parachuting Onto MarsAudience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-8Event Date: Sept. 24, 2015, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Participants in this webinar will calculate surface area and measure the mass of a spacecraft. Participants will learn the design process behind the parachute system used on the Orion spacecraft. Math concepts that will be covered during the session are expression and equations, geometry, quantitative relationships, and problem solving. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/140725

Mission to Mars Series: Mars Bound — Journey to the Red Planet
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 4-10Event Date: Sept. 28, 2015, at 6 p.m. EDTLearn about ways to use NASA remote-sensing data to develop or refine theories about how air, water and impact events can test theories and provide evidence for exploration on Mars. Multiple inquiry-based activities will deepen participants’ understanding of the behavior of the Earth’s geologic features and how they compare to Mars’. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/140362

Primarily PhysicsAudience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-2Event Date: Sept. 29, 2015, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Explore activities that use art, reading and play to bring NASA physics to students in kindergarten through second grade! Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/137337

Mission to Mars Series: Modeling MarsAudience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8Event Date: Sept. 30, 2015, at 6 p.m. EDT
Students you teach today may be the first explorers to Mars? How far will they have to travel to explore Mars? Is Mars big or small? This webinar will investigate those questions and explore our Earth, moon and Mars with NASA STEM activities that model the sizes of and distances between those bodies in our neighborhood while also integrating the Next Generation Science Standards. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/140428

Journey to M*A*R*S (Martian Advanced Resources for Survival): NASA InSight – Next Mars MissionAudience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12Event Date: Oct. 1, 2015, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
NASA’s next mission to Mars is InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport). As the InSight spacecraft probes deep within the surface of the Red Planet, the story of Mars’ origins will unfold. InSight will send real-time data back to Earth to reveal Mars’ long historical record, hidden for eons under its rocky surface. This session will focus on some of the tools Insight will provide for the classroom so that students can perform data analysis, just as scientists do, engaging in comparative planetology across multiple themes. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/140758

Smithsonian TechQuest: Astronaut Academy, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, is a free alternate-reality game that will challenge you to become an astronaut-in-training for a future trip to Mars. Choose what role you will play on the mission; engage in fun interactive activities; and explore the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills you will need as a next-generation space traveler. Along the way, you’ll learn about some of the museum’s fascinating artifacts.

Instructions and guidance are given via a special webpage accessed on your mobile device. Players should bring their own phones or devices equipped with an internet browser and a camera. Having a digital picture-taking device (smartphone, tablet, camera) is highly recommended but not required.

The game is aimed at upper elementary and middle school visitors and their families. Do you want to bring a group? Reservations are required for groups larger than 15.

The next offering of the Astronaut Academy is on Sept. 19, 2015. Begin your training with Astronaut Orientation in the Claude Moore Education Center Classroom 1 located on the first level across from the restrooms. Astronaut Orientation is offered at regular intervals between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The last opportunity to start the game is at 2:30 p.m. A self-guided activity, the game should take between 60 and 90 minutes, and staff will help you along the way.

NASA is hosting the sixth annual NASA Kennedy Space Center Community Day (formerly known as NASA Family Education Night) at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Sept. 19, 2014, with free admission from 2-6 p.m. EDT.

The event, targeted for K-12 students and their families, will focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, with the theme “Port to the Future.” Educational activities and demonstrations will highlight the future of America’s space program and allow children to engage in awesome experiments and cool demonstrations, make and launch rockets, and talk with a former astronaut.

Celebrate International Observe the Moon Night at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center

Join in the celebration of International Observe the Moon Night with an evening of fun-filled events at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

On Sept. 19, 2015, from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. CDT, representatives from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will be on hand for the celebration taking place inside the Davidson Center for Space Exploration. Enjoy hands-on interactive activities, including a live magic show, solar system presentations, an out-of-this-world photo booth, live planetarium shows and a chance to see the moon up close with the help of telescopes and astronomers from the Von Braun Astronomical Society.

NASA Swarmathon: Seeking College Students for Swarming Robotics Competition!

The Swarmathon is a NASA challenge to develop cooperative robotics to revolutionize space exploration. Selected teams will receive three Swarmie robots (valued at $6,000), training and instruction, a $1,000 stipend for their faculty member who is serving as their mentor, and a chance to compete against other teams from across the United States for a $5,000 cash prize.

On Sept. 22, 2015, the NASA Minority Innovation Challenges Institute, or MICI, will host a webinar explaining how students from Minority Serving Universities and Colleges can enter the NASA Swarmathon. The live webinar will provide an overview of the competition, a demonstration of the Swarmie Robot, and instructions on how teams can apply to compete. To register for the live webinar visit http://NASASwarmathon.com/webinar.

The First Annual Swarmathon, will occur April 18-22, 2016, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Participants will be challenged to develop search algorithms for robotic swarms. Swarmathon participation will improve students’ skills in robotics and computer science, and further advance technology for future NASA space exploration missions.

NASA seeks students from Minority Serving Universities and Community Colleges to apply and compete. All teams are encouraged to submit a Notice of Intent to apply by Oct. 1, 2015.

Distinguished scientist and trailblazing astronaut Dr. Kathryn Sullivan has made her career in looking at Earth from land, sea and space. Fascinated with maps as a young child, Sullivan grew up to view Earth from the unique perspective of the space shuttle. She was one of the first six women selected to join the NASA astronaut corps in 1978. Over the course of her NASA career, she flew on three shuttle missions and worked on many others. She became the first American woman to walk in space and helped to deploy the Hubble Space Telescope.

Currently, she heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where today’s means of looking at Earth with satellites and ocean sensors provide practical predictions about our environment.

On Sept. 29, 2015, Sullivan will discuss her life of exploration and discovery, what it’s like to fulfill her childhood dreams, and how NOAA’s study of our planet helps us understand today’s environmental challenges.

The lecture is free, but tickets are required. The lecture begins at 8 p.m. at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. and will be webcast live.

Highly motivated individuals will be given the opportunity to represent NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as volunteer SSAs to the public for a one-year, renewable term beginning Jan. 1, 2016.

While applications are being sought nationwide, interested parties from the following areas are especially encouraged to apply: Alaska, Delaware, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. SSA hopes to add 100 new volunteers to the program in 2016.

The Zero Robotics High School Tournament 2015 will take place this fall. The tournament will offer U.S. high school students the opportunity to design experiments that will be tested in space.

Zero Robotics challenges high school student teams to write their own algorithms to fly the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites, or SPHERES. The competition starts online where teams compete to solve an annual challenge guided by mentors. Students can create, edit, share, save, simulate and submit code from a Web browser. After several phases of virtual competition, finalists will be selected to compete in a live championship aboard the International Space Station.

NASA invites eligible U.S. educational institutions, museums and other organizations to screen and request historical artifacts of significance to spaceflight. This is the 28th screening of artifacts since 2009.

Eligible schools, universities, museums, libraries and planetariums may view the artifacts and request specific items through Oct. 5, 2015. Online registration should include an assigned Department of Education number. Registration also may be made through the requester’s State Agency for Surplus Property office. For instructions on how to register and to view and request artifacts online, visit http://gsaxcess.gov/NASAWel.htm.

The artifacts are free of charge and are offered “as-is.” Organizations must cover shipping costs and any handling fees. Shipping fees on smaller items will be relatively inexpensive; however, larger items may involve extensive disassembly, preparation, shipping and reassembly costs. NASA will work closely with eligible organizations to address any unique handling costs.

NASA frequently produces stunning visualizations, whether of distant worlds or of our own home planet. These remarkable images come out so frequently that it’s easy to forget the science and engineering that goes on behind the scenes to bring these visualizations to life.

This year, Oct. 11-17, 2015, Earth Science Week will focus on the theme “Visualizing Earth Systems.” Learn how visualizations are created and used by real scientists. This year, a series of blog posts will take readers through some tough science questions being asked and explain how visualizations are helping answer these questions.

This year’s lineup of blog writers includes experienced NASA visualizers, scientists and educators. All will discuss their relationship with “Visualizing Earth Systems” as part of their work. The blog posts will roll out in the weeks leading up to and will continue to be released throughout Earth Science Week.

It’s back-to-school time, and NASA Space Place has lots of new articles and activities to share with your students.

What’s New? Planet Profiles
Find out more about our solar system’s eight amazing planets with the new planet profiles. Find out how long a year lasts on Uranus and why the sun doesn’t rise every “day” on Mercury.

What’s New? The Space Place Glossary
You will encounter a lot of new vocabulary words as you read about space and Earth science. Our new glossary has over 65 terms with easy-to-understand definitions.http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/glossary

For the Classroom
You can decorate your classroom with the official Space Place calendar for the 2015-2016 school year. It has beautiful images, NASA facts and trivia, and links to relevant content. Download individual months or the entire set today.http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/calendar

Crafts, Crafts, Crafts!
Learn more about space, the sun, Earth and comets with these fun activities.

Special Days to CelebrateFind out about noteworthy days in NASA and space history that you can observe in your classroom.
Sept. 1: For the first time, a solar flare was observed and recorded in 1859.
What is a solar flare, anyway?http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/solar-cycles

Sept. 18: Voyager I took the first photo of Earth and the moon together in 1977.Do you know how far apart the moon and Earth are? It’s farther than you might think!http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/moon-distance

Share
Do you want some help spreading the word about NASA’s Space Place? We have a page with ready-to-use website descriptions, logos and links to all our social media. Check out http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/share.

Send FeedbackPlease let us know your ideas about ways to use The Space Place in your teaching. Send them to info@spaceplace.nasa.gov.

As NASA prepares for humans’ first steps on Mars in the 2030s, it becomes critical to understand what is needed for people to survive and thrive on Mars. On Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015, NASA’s Johnson Space Center will connect with NASA’s Ames Research Center to discuss Surviving and Thriving on Mars.

Join the discussion by asking questions through NASA’s Digital Learning Network of The Martian author Andy Weir, planetary scientist Chris McKay and astronaut Ricky Arnold. A representative from NASA will moderate questions during the program.

Host a Real-Time Conversation With Crew Members Aboard the International Space Station

ARISS-US is now accepting proposals from U.S. schools, museums, science centers and community youth organizations to host an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, contact between July 1 – Dec. 31, 2016. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS-US is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. Proposals are due Nov. 1, 2015.

Using amateur radio, students can ask astronauts questions about life in space and other space-related topics. Students fully engage in the ARISS contact by helping set up an amateur radio ground station at the school and then using that station to talk directly with a crew member on the International Space Station for approximately 10 minutes. ARISS provides experienced mentors and relies on local amateur radio volunteers to help organizations obtain the technology required to host this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students.

Informational Sessions
To help organizations in preparing their proposals, the ARISS program coordinator will offer hourlong online information sessions. These are designed to provide more information regarding U.S. ARISS contacts and the proposal process, and offer an opportunity to ask questions. While attending an online information session is not required, it is strongly encouraged.

ARISS-US is offered through a partnership between NASA; the American Radio Relay League, or ARRL; and the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, or AMSAT. ARISS was created and is managed by an international working group, including several countries in Europe as well as Japan, Russia, Canada, and the USA.

The NASA GISS Climate Change Research Initiative is a yearlong STEM engagement opportunity for STEM educators to lead research teams, work directly with NASA scientists, and develop STEM curriculum. Educators participating in this opportunity will become associate researchers at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies while remaining in their current teaching positions. Selected educators will become STEM education experts integrating NASA education resources and content into their classroom while improving STEM education within their community.

All applicants must be currently employed as full-time STEM educators and also be U.S. citizens. Applicants should reside within a 50-mile radius of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies located in New York City. Participants will receive an annual stipend of $9,000.

On Sept. 19, 2015, the whole world has the chance to admire and celebrate our moon on International Observe the Moon Night. And you can join in the fun!

Check the map of registered observation events at http://observethemoonnight.org to see if an event is being held near you. If not, please consider registering and hosting one and inviting your community.

Are you worried about cloudy weather obscuring your view of the moon?The “Moon as Art” collection, chosen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, team, gives the public the opportunity to see the moon as others have seen it for centuries — as an inspirational muse. But this time, also see the moon from the perspective of being in orbit with a series of eyes that see different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Learn more at http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/moonartgallery.html.

Additional beautiful, high-resolution images of the moon’s surface taken by LRO’s cameras are available at http://lroc.sese.asu.edu.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Lora.V.Bleacher@nasa.gov.
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Help NASA Study Mars — Planet Four: Terrains

Help NASA study exotic landscape features near the south pole of Mars! In this citizen science project, you’ll view images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Context Camera. Your input will help scientists identify possible areas for even more detailed examination with the orbiter’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. HiRISE can reveal more detail than any other camera ever put into orbit around Mars.

Some of Mars resembles deserts on Earth, but seasonal freezing and thawing of carbon-dioxide ice (known on Earth as “dry ice”) at the Martian poles creates some unusual landscape features. There’s a lot of territory to cover, so scientists need your help identifying what and where these features are.

Free “What’s New in Aerospace?” Lecture Series at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Are you curious about recent research, developments and discoveries related to space? Come to the Smithsonian’s “What’s New in Aerospace?” lecture series presented in collaboration with NASA. The lectures will be held in the Moving Beyond Earth gallery at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Each hourlong lecture begins at 1 p.m. ET and will be streamed live online.

Upcoming lectures include:

Sept. 22, 2015 —New Horizons at PlutoJoin Alan Stern, principal investigator of NASA’s New Horizons mission, as he discusses the historic mission that revealed hidden wonders on Pluto. Stern will share exciting images and science results yielded from the mission as the spacecraft flew though the Pluto system.

Dec. 15, 2015 —Sewing Machines, Balloons and Rocket FuelJoin in a discussion about the process and technologies used to land the Mars Science Laboratory, or Curiosity, on Mars. Ian Clark from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will provide historical context for the development of those technologies and talk about the need for improvements as Mars missions move to larger and larger payloads.For more information about the “What’s New in Aerospace?” lecture series and to watch the live webcast events, visit http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/whats-new-aerospace/.

Questions about this lecture series should be directed to the visitor service line at 202-633-2214.

“Where Over the World Is Astronaut Scott Kelly?” Geography From Space Trivia Contest

During his year-long stay on the International Space Station, astronaut Scott Kelly wants to test your knowledge of the world through a geography trivia game on Twitter. Traveling more than 220 miles above Earth, and at 17,500 miles per hour, he circumnavigates the globe more than a dozen times a day. This gives Kelly the opportunity to see and photograph various geographical locations on Earth. In fact, part of his job while in space is to capture images of Earth for scientific observations.

Follow @StationCDRKelly on Twitter. Each Wednesday, Kelly will tweet a picture and ask the public to identify the place depicted in the photo. The first person to identify the place correctly will win an autographed copy of the picture. Kelly plans to continue posting weekly contest photos until he returns from the space station in March 2016.

Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Presents “STEM in 30” Webcast Series

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is presenting a series of free education webcast events called “STEM in 30.” This new program consists of live, fast-paced 30-minute webcasts designed to increase interest and engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for students. To enhance the learning experience, students can get involved with the content through the interactive “Cover It Live” feature, which includes poll questions and classroom activities. The webcasts will be available live on the National Air and Space Museum website and will be archived for on-demand viewing.

Asteroid Redirect MissionSept. 23, 2015, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT
In orbit around the sun are thousands of asteroids ranging in size from grains of sand to miles across. NASA is planning a mission to capture a piece of an asteroid to be studied by NASA scientists and astronauts. Learn about asteroids, what we can learn from capturing one, and the technology needed to accomplish such a mission.

MarsOct. 21, 2015, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT
A current elementary or middle school student will most likely be the first human to step foot on Mars. Investigate the plans to send humans to Mars and the ongoing research into water and the possibility of life on the Red Planet.

Wilbur and Orville Wright: The Bicycle GuysDec. 17, 2015, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. EST
Before they built airplanes, the Wright brothers built bicycles. Take a look at how bicycle parts ended up on the first airplane and how engineers throughout history and today have transferred technology from one field to another just like the Wright brothers.

“STEM in 30” webcasts are online learning experiences but are filmed in front of a live audience. If you are interested in bringing your school group to a live filming of “STEM in 30,” please email STEMin30@si.edu for details.

Free ‘Ask an Expert’ Series Presented by Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

Join the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., for a series of “Ask an Expert” events. Each 15-minute discussion is presented by a member of the museum staff at Noon EDT at the museum’s “Great Seal” in the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall on the first floor.

Upcoming space-related discussions include:

Sept. 23, 2015 —Earth and Planetary Imageryhttp://airandspace.si.edu/events/detail.cfm?id=18045
Join Jennifer O’Brien for a discussion about how the Internet and digitization movement have led to easy access to the world of Earth and planetary imagery. Learn about the best online sites for finding stunning images of the planets in our solar system.

Oct. 7, 2015 —Sputnikhttp://airandspace.si.edu/events/detail.cfm?id=18048
Join Cathleen Lewis for a discussion about Sputnik. Launched by the Soviet Union on Oct. 4, 1957, this beach ball-sized artificial satellite marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R. space race.

Oct. 14, 2015 —Instrumentation as Eyes: How We See Earth From Spacehttp://airandspace.si.edu/events/detail.cfm?id=18070
Join Brian Jirout for a discussion about satellite imagery and its various uses, including weather forecasting. Find out what you’re looking at when you watch a weather forecast and where that information comes from.

NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace announce the 2016 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts-Academic Linkage Exploration Robo-Ops, also known as the RASC-AL Robo-Ops, competition. This design competition is aimed at university-level engineering students.

The Robo-Ops contest challenges participants to build a planetary rover prototype and demonstrate its capabilities in field tests at NASA’s Johnson Space Center’s Rock Yard. Up to three members of the team (plus the faculty advisor) may travel to Johnson for the onsite testing. The remaining team members will stay behind at the local university to conduct mission control tasks. The prototype rovers will be tele-operated by the mission control team members and must negotiate a series of obstacles while accomplishing a variety of tasks that include sample collection and acquisition. The only information available to the rover controller to perform the required tasks will be information transmitted through onboard rover video camera(s), microphone(s), or other onboard sensors.

Interested teams are encouraged to submit a notice of intent by Sept. 23, 2015, and teams must submit a project plan for their proposed project by Oct. 3, 2015.

The Robo-Ops Steering Committee of NASA experts will evaluate the project plans and select up to eight teams to compete against each other at the Rock Yard in late May 2016. Each of the selected teams will be provided with a $10,000 stipend to develop their rover.

The Robo-Ops competition is open to full-time undergraduate or graduate students majoring in engineering, science or related disciplines at an accredited university. University design teams must include one faculty or industry advisor with a university affiliation and two or more undergraduate or graduate students. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will open its gates to the public for an open house on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, this year’s Explore@NASAGoddard will feature the theme “Celebrating Hubble and the Spirit of Exploration.” During its time in orbit, Hubble has helped to answer some of the most compelling astronomical questions of our time and uncovered mysteries we never knew existed. In addition to highlighting Hubble, all areas of Goddard’s research — Earth science, heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics, and engineering and technology — will be presented. Each discipline plays a critical part in NASA’s ongoing journey to reach new heights, reveal the unknown and advance scientific understanding for the benefit of humankind.

The last Explore@NASAGoddard open house took place in 2011 with more than 12,000 attendees! Similar to that event, this year’s open house will feature more than 100 activities, including the opportunity to meet astronauts, watch demonstrations, listen to great music and learn about the extraordinary work happening at Goddard.

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other’s implementation in real time as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

Sept. 26-27, 2015 — University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Milwaukee, WisconsinCAE Tier I Teaching Excellence Workshop for Current and Future Astronomy and Space Science Instructors

Call for Proposals — NASA Research Announcement for Use of the NASA Physical Sciences Informatics System: Appendix A

NASA is seeking ground-based research proposals from graduate students to use NASA’s Physical Sciences Informatics system to develop new analyses and scientific insights. The PSI system is designed to be a resource for researchers to data mine information generated from completed physical sciences experiments performed on the International Space Station or from related ground-based studies.

This solicitation appendix focuses on the following five research areas: combustion science, complex fluids, fluid physics, fundamental physics and materials science.

For graduate students (students working towards an advanced degree), this NASA Research Announcement is soliciting proposals that advance fundamental research in one of the physical sciences disciplines identified above and also assist in the awarding of an advanced degree to the graduate student. This call is open to students who meet the following eligibility requirements:
— The student is pursuing an advanced degree directly related to a physical sciences discipline — only technical degrees are permitted (not degrees in policy or management).
— The student is a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident alien of the U.S., or on a student visa at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission.
— The student is enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission, or, if the student is an undergraduate starting their graduate studies, he or she has been accepted to a master’s or doctoral degree program at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission and will start during the next academic year.
— The student has an academic graduate advisor who will submit the application for the graduate student. The student must perform the proposed research under the guidance of the assigned graduate advisor.

The agency expects to make approximately 10-15 awards in early 2016, The award for each proposal selected from this Appendix will be $50,000 – $75,000 per year, for a total maximum award amount up to $150,000 for a two-year period. Research and development efforts will take place over two years.

NASA’s Digital Learning Network Event — Live Video Chat: So You Want To Be A Martian

As NASA prepares for humans’ first steps on Mars in the 2030s, it is important to understand what is fact versus fiction about living on Mars. On Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center will conduct a Journey to Mars Education Event called So You Want to Be a Martian. There will be a curated panel discussion with NASA experts, including a scientist and an astronaut.

Join the discussion by asking questions of NASA experts and The Martian stars through NASA Education’s Digital Learning Network. A representative from NASA will moderate questions during the program.

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, in collaboration with the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, is seeking proposals from U.S. institutions of higher education for the Undergraduate Student Instrument Project’s Student Flight Research Opportunity. Proposals should outline plans to develop an undergraduate-led project team that will fly a science and/or technology payload relevant to NASA’s strategic goals and objectives on a sounding rocket, balloon, aircraft, suborbital reusable launch vehicle or CubeSat launched on an orbital launch vehicle.

Funding is available to all U.S. institutions of higher education (e.g., universities, four-year colleges, community colleges, or two-year institutions) and to institutions involved in the Space Grant program. Prospective project teams can be composed only of undergraduate students from U.S. institutions of higher education. Graduate students are not eligible to be project team members; however, they are encouraged to serve as mentors to the undergraduate student team and are permitted to request a mentoring stipend.

Interested institutions must submit a Notice of Intent by email by 11:59 p.m. EDT, Oct. 1, 2015. Proposals are due on Nov. 20, 2015.

Proposers may request a grant or cooperative agreement to support NASA-themed science, technology, engineering or mathematics education, including exhibits, within these congressionally directed topics: space exploration, aeronautics, space science, Earth science or microgravity. CP4SMPVC+ is a competitive, high-quality, national program. The basic goal of the CP4SMPVC+ solicitation is to further NASA Strategic Objective 2.4: “Advance the Nation’s STEM education and workforce pipeline by working collaboratively with other agencies to engage students, teachers, and faculty in NASA’s missions and unique assets.”

Eligible institutions do not need to have the words “museum,” “visitor center,” “science,” “planetarium,” or “youth” in their official name, but they must be located in the United States or its Territories. See the NRA for full eligibility requirements and other limitations. Check the NSPIRES website once a week to learn if amendments or frequently asked questions have been added. Amendments and FAQs also will be announced via the NASA Education EXPRESS listserv.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is announcing a national climate game jam that will be held in multiple sites around the U.S. on Oct. 2-4, 2015. This event offers a unique opportunity for educators, students, scientists, game designers and interested members of the public to work together on the development of climate game jam prototypes that span a range of platforms, topics and audiences.

In December 2014, the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy launched a Climate Education and Literacy Initiative to help connect U.S students and citizens with the best available science-based information about climate change. Federal and nongovernmental experts are collaborating to harness the promise of educational games and interactive media to enhance understanding and awareness of climate change impacts and solutions.

The Climate Game Jam will encourage the creation of new game prototypes that allow players to learn about climate change and resilience through science-based interactive experience. Promising prototypes will be made available for teachers and students to use in the classroom and for lifelong learners to use in science centers or at home. Selected prototypes may be highlighted at a climate game showcase in December 2015.

At the present time, NOAA is recruiting host sites for the game jam around the country. Each site can establish limits to hours and audience. More information about the responsibilities of a site can be found at http://climategamejam.org. A kick-off event featuring Ken Eklund, a well-known game designer, will take place via webcast on Friday, Oct. 2, 2015.

Please direct questions about this event to Peg Steffen at Peg.Steffen@noaa.gov.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Celebrate World Space Week 2015

Join educators and space enthusiasts around the world to celebrate World Space Week, Oct. 4-10, 2015. This international event commemorates the beginning of the Space Age with the launch of Sputnik 1 on Oct. 4, 1957.

World Space Week is the largest public space event in the world, with celebrations in more than 60 nations. During World Space Week, teachers are encouraged to use space-themed activities.